SYNOPSIS:
Based on a very popular Manga series "Sik-gaek",
Le Grand Chef is an action packed comedy about Sung Chan (Kim
Gang-woo), a young Korean chef who has lost his confidence
after a terrible incident caused by his food. He is nevertheless
been convinced to enter in a national competition, organized
to find the true and only heir to the last royal chef of the
Chosun Dynasty and inherited his famous knife and restaurant.
Le Grand Chef is brimming with thrilling set pieces, broad
humor, mouth-watering food and a skillful interweaving of
heartfelt back stories.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Honestly, the tantalizing and succulent displays of a wide
variety of Korean cuisine got me hooked more than anything
else with the exception of the opening scene of a blowfish
being decapitated, “Le Grand Chef” is an easy
movie to sit through.
Set
in contemporary Korea, “Chef” is about finding
the true heir to the last royal chef of the Chosun Dynasty
who in turn will inherit the historical royal chef’s
cooking knife.
The
main protagonist is a chef named Sung Chan (played by newcomer
Kim Gang-Woo) who is sent to a fictional chef school since
young but a freak incident causes him to lose confidence in
his culinary skills. With the harassment of a gusty reporter
(Lee Ha-na), Sung Chan is convinced to face his rival once
again in a national cooking competition to regain his family’s
reputation and his own demons.
One
thing for sure, I tried to steer clear of those usual weepy,
tears-wrenching Korean movies and drama serials which was
ironically how a lot of fans were won over in the first place.
Fortunately, “chef” plods along without all those
mushy scenes if you consider an emotional sequence involving
a errr…um..cow!
There
are plenty of flashbacks and back stories that will grip you
as well. Interestingly, the Korean screenwriters make great
use of their past rich history to weave it into the story.
For the uninitiated, the Chosun dynasty which ended in 1910
with the invasion of Japan was full of centuries of culture,
etiquettes, cuisine and languages which were passed down to
today’s society.
It’s
apparent to understand why “Le Grand Chef” tops
the Korean box-office for weeks, a charming guy liked Kim
Gang-Woo (bears a slight resemblance to “Running Wild”
actor, Kwon Sang-woo) who knows how to wield a knife and whipped
up delicious kimchi soup and barbeque can’t be that
bad. I’m saying this in addition to the delightful storyline
and the likeable supporting cast.
Lap
up the “Le Grand Chef” and walked away feeling
sumptuous and satisfied.
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
This Code 3 DVD consists of trailers, a MTV and a 5 minutes
making of special. There’s some photo stills from the
leading man’s visit to Singapore and the movie as well.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
Dolby Digital 2.0 transfer is rich enough to support this
chef. The dialogue, ambience sound effects such as the cutting
of the ingredients, sizzling fire portraying out of the front
speakers is excellent. The visual is pretty crisp, the lush
shots of the countryside for example is detailed and sharp.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
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